North Carolina opts out of healthcare lawsuit

More than a dozen states are taking part in the Florida-led healthcare lawsuit, but North Carolina said it won't be one of them.

North Carolina's Attorney General Roy Cooper announced that the state would not be participating in the federal lawsuit. In a letter Cooper wrote to North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue, he said healthcare legislation should not be decided by judges, but instead by elected representatives who have time to change the policy if they see fit.

The lawsuit claims the $2.5 trillion healthcare reform bill violates states' rights and some believe the case will go all the way to the Supreme Court. Cooper believes this lawsuit is unlikely to succeed.

The Charlotte Observer reported that North Carolina Republican leaders pressured Cooper to join the lawsuit. It also said that only one of the attorneys general who joined the lawsuit is a Democrat. North Carolina GOP chairman Tom Fetzer is not pleased with Cooper's decision. He told the Associated Press that "the Constitution does not give the federal government the power to force North Carolina's citizens to purchase health insurance. North Carolina needs an attorney general who understands the Constitution and has the courage to fight for her citizens.''

The healthcare bill recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives without a single Republican vote.